Dual hand grip tennis racket



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DUAL. HAND GRIP TENNIS RACKET June 11, 1957 Filed larch 16. 1954 FIG. 1.

ATTORNEYS DUAL HAND GRIP TENNIS RACKET Robin C. Wood, Emporia, Kans.

Application March 16, 1954, Serial No. 416,490

1 Claim. (Cl. 273-73) The present invention relates to tennis rackets and the like and, more particularly, to an improved gripping means for a tennis racket.

It is well known with those familiar with the game of tennis that the backhand stroke is the most ditficult stroke to accomplish and constitutes the most common weakness of both experienced players and those just beginning. With the traditional tennis racket the backhand stroke cannot be avoided, since there is insufiicient time for a player to change the racket from one hand to the other during the course of play. While some players are able to accomplish the transfer of the racket from one hand to the other during play, the procedure is somewhat diflicult and, as a consequence, the backhand stroke is usually used.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a tennis racket having a gripping means which eliminates the necessity of using the backhand stroke in playing tennis and, consequently, overcomes the above difliculties heretofore experienced.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a tennis racket having a pair of handles which may be respectively gripped by opposite hands of a player so as to enable the player to easily exchange the racket from one hand to the other.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the following description and appended claim.

The invention may best be understood with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein one illustrative embodiment is shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a tennis racket embodying the present invention, and

Figure 2. is an elevational view of the tennis racket shown in Figure 1.

Referring now, more particularly, to the drawings,

indicates generally a tennis racket head constructed in the conventional manner. The tennis racket head comprises a hooked frame 12 which is substantially elliptical in shape and, as viewed from the side, is substantially straight. Throughout the periphery of the hooped frame 12 there is provided a series of apertures 14 through which are strung the conventional tennis racket strings 16 of nylon, catgut, or the like, which constitute the ball engaging portion of the head.

As stated above, the structure of the tennis racket head is completely conventional and forms no part of the present invention. The present invention relates to a dual handle gripping means for the conventional tennis racket head which enables a player to quickly and easily pass the racket from one hand to the other. As shown in the drawings, the preferred embodiment of gripping means comprises a pair of handles 18-20 which extend outwardly from one end of the tennis racket head in much the same manner as a conventional tennis racket handle. The handles 18-20 are shown as extending generally parallel to each other and to a plane coincident nied States Patent 6 the strings and are equally spaced therefrom.

*As illustrated in Figure l," thehandles 1820 are preferably connected to the hooped frame 12 by means of aninverted T-shaped member 22, which may be formed integrally withthe upper end of the handles 18-20.

The upper portion ofthe inverted T-shaped member22' may beconnected withthe hooped-shaped frame inthe' conventional manner.

It is to be understood that while the connecting member 22 is shown as being T-shaped, it could assume other shapes, such as an inverted Y-shape or the like, and it need not be integrally formed with the handles. For example, the handles could be individually connected directly to the frame 12 and diverge outwardly therefrom.

In order to give the handles 1820 additional strength, a brace 24 may be secured across the bottom ends of the handles, if desired. As shown in Figure l, the brace 24 may be secured to the 'handles 18-20 by suitable screws 26, it, of course, being understood that other means may be employed.

In utilizing a tennis racket provided with the dual handle gripping means of the present invention, the necessity for using the backhand stroke during the course of play is eliminated. Thus, by shifting the racket from one hand to the other, the player is enabled at all times to hit the ball with a forehand stroke using the left hand when the ball approaches from the left side and using the right hand when the ball approaches from the right side. As was intimated above, to exchange the conventional tennis racket from one hand to the other is a difficult time consuming manipulation. Such a manipulation would involve the following steps in an exchange process from the right hand to the left hand. First, the racket must be grasped and held above the handle with the left hand to prevent the racket from dropping to the court when the right hand is released and removed from the handle. Second, the right hand must then be moved in place so as to grasp the racket above the handle, thus making the single handle accessible to the left hand and also preventing the racket from dropping to the court as the left hand is released prior to being moved to the handle. Lastly, the left hand must then be released and moved to the handle and the right hand removed before a stroke can be made. This process must be reversed in exchanging the racket from the left hand to the right hand. It can be readily observed from the above that the shifting of a conventional tennis racket from one hand to the other involves a difiicult manipulation which cannot be easily accomplished in the short time available between strokes. However, with the present dual handle gripping means, the player may hold the racket in one hand by one handle at the same time he is grasping the other 'handle with the other hand. In this manner the transfer of the tennis racket from one hand to the other may be easily accomplished by simply passing it back and forth from one hand to the other. The speed with which the transfer of the tennis racket may be accomplished is easily within the time lapse between strokes.

It is to be noted that the disposition of the handles 1820 is such that the tennis racket is symmetrical about a plane passing through the center line of both handles and also to a plane passing through the center line of the tennis racket head. Thus, the essential balance of the tennis racket is maintained while being used by either hand.

It is to be understood that the term tennis racket" as utilized in this description is not limited to a racket utilized in playing lawn tennis, but includes other related rackets such as paddle tennis, badminton and the like.

It is to .be -understood, however, that .the .form of the may :be made without departing irom the .spirit of she invention orthescope-of the appended claim.

I claim:

In a tennis :racket comprising a :hooped frame, .strings mounted within said rhooped frame so :as to extend :in a substantially flat plane, and a handle for said hooped frame; the improvement which -.consists in said handle being formed with two :hand grip portions in substantial parallel relation, said hand grip portions being arranged in .a plane transverse .to the plane of .the frame and being equally spaced therefrom whereby a. player may grip either of said portions in one hand and quickly pass the other grip portion to the other hand during play.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES FPATENTS 1,541,829 ,Larned -l June 16, 1925 1,919,221 lanes July 25, 1933 2,282,419 Hall May 12, 1942 2,325,525 Luckenbill July 27, 1943 

